Caught in the Middle
by Heart's Labyrinth
Summary: When two American witches are transferred to Hogwarts they end up involved in a lot more then they could have ever imagined. They were worried about fitting in and doing well in classes, now they have to worry about competing in The Triwizard Tournament and get their feelings for the new people in their lives figured out! They have a long year ahead of them.
1. Chapter 1

Note from Heart's Labyrinth: Hey everyone! So I know a lot of you have been waiting for the new chapter of Devil's Dance Floor but I have been in bit of a rut when it comes to that story at the moment. Don't worry, a new chapter will be up within the week! This story is something a friend and I have been working on for a very long time, and I hope you will give it a chance! Keep in mind, this was started a while ago so the writing will be kind of odd at the beginning but it gets better! And please review! Any sort of review would be fantastic!

Disclaimer: All of the characters (minus Kate and Amber) belong to the amazing JK Rowling. If we owned them we would be rich! Please enjoy!

Kate's Point of View

I felt…ignored, forgotten. It was like I was thrown out in the trash along with last week's pizza boxes! Amber and I were just in the back of a grand hall filled with tables and chairs and food and hot British teenager boys! And why were we there? So that the head master could introduce us to the school. We had to be "sorted" he said…what are we? Dirty socks that had to be sorted for laundry day? But, no. we weren't sorted. We were upstaged by Frenchies and big guys with boom-boom sticks. Amber had begun her usual zoning out so I was all alone.

"UGH! What is this? I'm missing my first year of high school so that I can be put in the back of a giant room filled with crazy Europeans? I don't think so. And Amber? Amber…..AMBER! Stop looking at the old man with the big nose. He's far too old for you. Anyways do you see all the gingers over at that table? There's enough red over there as it is, with their robes and such. I mean nearly every ginger in here is wearing red. Why not put them in a different color? Like green. But no, than it would look like Christmas!" If you can't tell, I was in a bad mood…and the Monster I just had probably wasn't helping much. Oh me on caffine…

"W-were you saying something?" Amber, my spacey companion, just missed my whole ginger rant. Really?

"No, no I wasn't saying a damn thing. I was just commenting on the weather, looking up at the ceiling, which is see-though, if you hadn't noticed, and it got me wondering, what happens when it rains? I mean, those poor candles, they are awfully close to the ceiling and they would get rained on, then their flame to go out. Do you know why that is? Because water and fire don't mix well. I mean, why did Katara end up with Aang? Why couldn't she get with the cooler Zuko? Because he's a fire bender and she's a water bender, and of course she had to choose the pansy air bender!"

"So you did say something." Amber said after about a minute of thinking to herself. By this time almost all eyes were on the two of us so I did what any normal person would do in this situation. I stared to dance awkwardly.

Amber's Point of View

Kate was ranting, again, so I did what I normally do and just started zoning out. Kate and I stuck out and it probably wasn't just because Kate was now yelling at the top of her lungs. Her neon socks didn't help either. As I looked around the room we were standing my eyes fell upon one of most gorgeous guys I have ever seen in my life. He was sitting in a sea of green robes. He had blonde hair and beautiful grey eyes. Then he was forgotten in about two seconds when I saw him. He was sitting up at table in the back of the room. He was dressed in all black, and had long black hair. When I saw him I forgot how to breathe for a second. Luckily this happened often, so I was able to get my breathing in check. I prayed that this man would be one of my teachers.

"W-were you saying something?" I had just noticed Kate was looking at me. She responded by going into another rant. "So you did say something." Looking around I noticed that almost everyone was staring at us.

"Oh, I had almost forgotten." Dumbledore called for the attention of all the students. "Everyone I have another announcement! This year we will be welcoming in two new students to our school. Yes they are four years late but…"

"Hey! Have you ever tried to get here from America? Ya, didn't think so. And do we look like were made of money? I mean its bad enough trying to get money for a plane to the UK, but to Hogwarts? The people laughed at us, and we almost got sent to the insane asylum. So we decided to just save up enough money for the school supplies. We decided that we would try walking." I was able to finish in one breath.

"So we thought we dig to China 'cause China is closer to Europe then America then America. We ended up falling down some Rabbit Hole. That place was like a drug experiment gone very VERY bad. First off, the flowers were very rude! They kept calling us weeds! Then we went to this tea party with a dormouse that couldn't stay awake, some rabbit that was named after a month, and some crazy guy with a hat!" Kate explained as we made our way where the man with the beard was standing.

"So we were able to climb back up the rabbit hole and we found out selves in Forks, where their vampires sparkle and the werewolves are in love with babies. We got out of there ASAP and ended up on the Black Pearl." I said.

"The whole crew was drunk and I almost got raped by a monkey with a sword!" Kate said.

"They took us to pirate cove at Neverland where we met some kids who didn't want to grow up and a guy with a hook for a hand. He was hot," I said with a smile, think about the pirate captain. "While we were there we were offered a chance to see Atlantis, but we were late enough as it was so we had to say no. We then took a boat that took us to Narnia, but a war was going on so we left as soon as we could."

"We followed the Yellow Brick Road out of Narnia into the magical land of Oz. That was not fun; what with the Munchkins and crazy Tin-Man…" Kate shuddered when she thought of the flamboyant Tin-Man.

"So once we got to the Emerald City, we hopped on the Polar Express. And that sucked. I mean there were little kids everywhere! Not to mention Kate and I weren't even in our pajamas so we stood out. The train was going to Santa's Workshop and on the train singing, dancing, crazy people gave us hot chocolate…"

"But," Kate continued, "They took it away from us before we were able to drink it. I mean, sorry I didn't down my steaming beverage right away. I was a little distracted by the song and dance."

"Oh, yeah. And they didn't even give us marshmallows! I mean that was almost as bad as the Christmas the Grinch stole."

"And you do NOT want to know what we had to go though in Whoville. So once we got off the Polar Express, we were at King's Crossing Station. So we thought we were almost here! We hopped on the train going to the castle! But this isn't the only castle in the area. We ended up in a castle with Cinderella, Snow White, Rupenzel, and Sleeping Beauty. And I'm not sure if you realize this but all of them end up with the same dude! So after breaking up the dozens of cat fight, we climbed Mount Olympus, and had my home-boy Hermes drop us here." Kate finished the story of our epic journey here. We knew everyone in the hall was listening so we just sat down; I sat next to a hot guy in yellow (he looked like a good boy, so not my type), and Kate sat next to a girl who looked around our age in blue.

"Hey, yellow-man. How's it going?" I like to think I was making a friend.

"Hey," I heard Kate say to the blue girl. Kate picked up the girls cup, "Can I have a drink? Oh wait, eew, it's Squirt. I think I'll just stay dehydrated."

The only sound in the hall was now coming from two tall redheads who looked exactly alike. They were standing giving Kate and I a round of applause.

"Thank you, Ginger Twins! We'll be here all year!" Kate shouted at them.

Kate's Point of View

After our glorious speech, we had to be sorted.

"Katharine Evans," called out a mellow looking woman over a roll of parchment, looking over her glasses at me. I walked over to a stool and sat down to look out into the faces of students who didn't look to pleased that I was there. I sat there waiting for them to go get the Sorting Hat that they put away. It was taking forever! So I pulled the hair-tie off my wrist and pulled my wavy dark brown hair into a ponytail. By the time I took my heads away from my hair, a hat was plopped on my head.

"Hmmm…," the hat said (talking hat?) "An American, 'ey? Hmmm…let's see. You're very smart, Miss Evans; an honors student back home, impressive. You are also a very loyal friend. You would do well in Ravenclaw or Huffelpuff. But, wait!" everyone seemed to stop breathing at the point. "You have to be very brave to sing, alone, in front of thousands of people." I am a singer, actress, dancer, crazy person. I perform, it's what I do but the way the hat was talking about me made me feel like I was so circus freak, and not the fun kind.

"Wait," I told the hat, "It was not thousands of people. And why are you announcing my e-harmony profile to the whole school? Am I missing something, 'cause I just don't get how this works."

"Aah, Miss Evans, you are being modest." My attempts to defuse the "Kate the Freak" image failed. "I can see into your past, and you did perform for thousands of people. That takes bravery. And I can also see that you have formed many bonds though that performance, one of those bonds of friendship being between you and Miss Royal over there. You are one of the bravest students I have ever sorted. Therefore…GRYFFINDOR!" Everyone at the red table groan so I walked over and sat down. Oh joy of joys.

Amber's Point of View

"Amber Royal," I walked up to the stool and found everyone staring at me. I was used to it. I was an actress after all. If the audience wasn't staring at me then I wasn't doing my job right. Not like I was a professional actress, but I had been in all the shows my school had but on, landing a couple of lead roles.

The talking hat was placed on my head. "Hmmm what do we have here? Smart, much like Miss Evans. Loyal, strong willed, never goes down without a fight, and doesn't give up. Looks like Gryffindor would be a good house for you. But looking deeper I see a want for power, a need to have everything play out the way you want it to… perhaps Slytherin…"

I shrugged. "Look, put me where ever, I really don't care. I just wanna eat and get some sleep. Today has been a long day."

"Well! No wonder you are an actress! With an attitude like that," I smirked as the hat huffed. "Looks like you have a real talent for acting. You have been acting ever since you could talk. And even though there is a darker side in you, there is much good as well. I HAVE DECIDED!" The hat yelled making me jump. "You shall be in… GRYFFINDOR!" I got up and pulled the hat off my head, handing it to the stern woman.

"Alright," I said as I made my way over to the table and took a seat next to Kate who gave me a high five. At least we were in the same house.

A boy with messy hair and glasses leaned over and extended his hand to me and Kate. "Hello, I'm Harry, Harry Potter," I shook his hand.

"Hello Harry, my name's Amber and this is Kate."

"It's nice to meet you. This is Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. They are my best friends."

"It's nice to meet you."

"So did you guys really do all that stuff?" The red headed boy named Ron asked.

"No." Kate said.

"But it made a funny story," I said with a grin.

We spent the rest of dinner talking with the three friends, and then we went to the Gryffindor common room, found our beds, and went to sleep.

Kate's Point of View

The start of the school year was like any other. We were handed our schedules and were off to a fun year of learning. Amber and I had the same schedules exactly but so did every other four-year Gryffindor. Our first night was a blur; full of people looking at us like we were some freaky circus attraction (thank you Mr. Hat) and people firing rapid questions for us to answer. Amber loved the spotlight but I loathed every minute of it. There's a time and a place for being the center of attention and this was not it. After answering what felt like a million questions, I decided to go for a walk and leave Amber to her fan club. Unbelievable, we haven't been here for even a day and she already had a million people in love with her. I walked out of the common room to find two boys in my year talking about me and Amber.

"I just don't think having them here feels right." One of the boys said. He was talk and lengthy with bright red hair. I bet he was Ginger Twins' little brother. I'm sure I was introduced to him at some point today but I really couldn't remember. "I mean, why them? Why now?" he asked the other boy.

"I don't know, Ron." The other boy said, shrugging. He was a little short than the redhead, Ron (and I did during dinner). He had jet-black hair and round glasses that kind of hid his bright green eyes that were similar to my own. I remembered meeting him before; no one forgets their first encounter with the famous Harry Potter.

"Well I don't like them. They seem fake, dishonest, and kind of crazy." I know I should've just gone back in the common room and not be bothered by it but I was feeling reckless.

"I prefer to be called insane, not crazy." I said, coming out of my hiding spot in the door way. "It has more of a ring to it, don't you think?" Ron and Harry were staring at me, looking shocked that I actually heard what they said.

"Sorry," Harry said after staring at me a moment longer. "Ron didn't mean what he said. He's just a little upset about summer being over." He gave Ron an uneasy glance.

"Um…okay?" Harry wasn't that convincing. Clearly Ron didn't want me here.

"I'm Harry and this is Ron."

"I kinda figured that out. Just because I'm American, it doesn't mean I'm stupid." Harry seemed to ignore my comment, but I could tell my present's was pissing Ron off. "And we also met downstairs."

"You're Amber, right?" Ron asked suddenly.

"I'm Kate, actually. Kate Evans." I said looking him dead in the eye. Eye contact is one of the easiest way to bother someone who hates you.

"Well, Kate Evans," Ron stared, "Where are you from?"

"Swahili." I sarcastically stated. Was this kid for real? "Where do you think?"

"I meant what part of America are you from?" his voice was rising. This guy had a short temper.

"Why do you want to know? You gonna stalk me now?" I grinned at him. Harry looked like he was going to puke; apparently, our bickering made him uneasy. Ron stared to insult me, but than his was cut off with what looked like a jinx or curse or something.

"Now, now, Ickle-Ronny-kins," one of the twins stared, "Is that any way to talk to a lady?"

"Let alone a guest of our great school?" the other twin said. Ron looked even more pissed off than before. The twins both turned to me. "Please excuse our little brother, Miss Evans. We don't want your first day here to be a bad one." One of the twins said.

"If you like, to make up for his horrible manners," said the other one, pointing at Ron, "my brother and I would be honored if you would come on a tour of the grounds with us."

"And bring Miss Royal along as well. I'm Fred by the way. Fred Weasley. And this is my brother, George." Fred and his brother each gave me a grand bow.

"I'm Kate. I know you know that but everyone keeps calling me Miss Evans and its kinda pissing me off so Kate is fine." Fred and George were staring at me. "Sorry. I tend to ramble."

"Really? From the way you and Amber came into the Grand Hall-," Fred began.

"-we would have never guessed." George finished for him. I smiled and went to go get Amber, leaving Ron, Harry, and the Weasley twins staring after me.

You would think that the first day at a wizarding school would be fun but it turns out it's exactly the same as the first day at any other high school; full of rules, drama, and the awkward "this will be a great year" speech. Amber and I had all of our classes together…but we also had them all with the other Gryffindor fourth year, including the golden trio who are started to piss me off after only 24 hours for knowing each other. We stared our day in Herbology class with Professor Sprout and the Hufflepuffs. We started toward the green houses when we were met by the most annoying sound ever; Hermione Granger's rumbling.

"…if you would just read _Hogwarts, A History_, Ronald, you would know that…." And on and on she went. Note to self, drink more coffee before coming in close contact with Ms. Granger.

"And these people think our rambling is bad." I said dryly.

"But at least we are entertaining. Besides its way too early for this bull shi-"

"Good morning class!" Professor Sprout cut Amber off. "I would first like to welcome Miss Evans and Miss Royal. Ladies, please stand." When we did, we were met with glares, both of hate and wonder. "Now today, we will be learning about how to properly collect the puss of a bubotuber. Now please pull on your dragon-hide gloves and began." So maybe this isn't like every other first day.

Amber's Point of View

Finally, when we were done with Herbology we had to walk down this steep hill to get to Care of Magical Creatures. We had it with the Slytherins. The other Gryffindors seemed really pissed about this, but the Slytherins hadn't done anything to me, so why should I care? Anyways, our teacher was named Hagrid. He was the biggest man I had ever seen in my life! Not to mention his dog looked like it could eat a little kid in one bite…. Hmmm…. A kid eating dog…. Gotta get me one of those.

"Mornin'." Hagrid said, smiling at the golden trio. I got the feeling that ever teacher was gonna put those three on a freekin pedestal. "Be'er wait fer the Slytherins, they won' want ter miss this- Blast Ended Skrewts!"

It looked like some sort of Joe's Crab Shack entrée gone terribly, terribly wrong. Turns out they had just hatched, and we got to raise them like our own little mutant babies.

"Why would we want to raise them?" A cold voice asked. Kate and I turned to see a group of student arrive at the hut. From the glares they were getting I could only assume they were the Slytherins. The boy who had talked was in front of them all. He was very pale with blond hair. He was one of the hottest guys I had ever seen! Wish I was a Slytherin…

We spent the class trying to work with the Skrewts. Kate and I got burned a few times, our little creature kept blowing up on us.

"Nice going… um… what's your name?" The blonde boy was staring at me and I forgot how to speak.

"Well," Kate said in an out of place Jamaican accent, "I am Lola, and this is my companion Snowflake," I turned to look at her, and she just smirked. "No Snowflake, bad girl," Damn those TV commercials…

"No," Hermione said, coming out of nowhere. "You're Kate Evans, and you're Amber Royal," God she was such an annoying little know it all.

"Really? Since when?" Kate asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Well I would assume that those are the names your parents-"

"No shit Sherlock," I said cutting her off. "We're using sarcasm. Don't sweat it, it's new." I rolled my eyes and glanced at the blonde boy who was now smirking. I got the vibe he wasn't Hermione's biggest fan either. I learned that his name was Draco Malfoy, and I soon made it my goal to get to know more about him.

Lunch was amazing. I just could not get over how it was impossible to run out of food! The lamb chops and potatoes were so good! Kate and I tried to sit as far away from the other kids as possible. The two ginger twins ended up sitting next to us, but we were ok with that. They were quickly becoming the first people we could call friends at this school of hocus pocus. We made small talk throughout the meal, and laughed at how dumb some of the people in this school were. Like Ronald Weasley, what a loser.

Kate's Point of View

We got through Care of Magical Creatures (where I think Amber fell in love…again) and the lunch with the twins. Now it was off to Divination…a double period of it. Oh joy of joys. The teacher, Professor Trelawney, was ranting and raving about how Harry Potter nearing his doom or something stupid like that. But then, after Amber fell asleep and I was about to join her, the teacher decided to change victims, from Harry to us.

"You two will overcome many challenges as a team this year. The Inner-Eye is strong in both of you and you will learn to conquer it." She went on for the rest of the class and it was a bit on the ridiculous side.

"Well that was fun." Amber said as we walked down stairs toward the Great Hall, where we said we'd meet the twins and their friends. On the way down, I heard voices raising and I felt the tense air all around me.

"Keep your mouth shut about my mother, Potter." Malfoy spat. Great, the golden trio at it with the three stooges. I walked toward them to try and pass and BANG! Amber was hit by a curse by Malfoy, aiming for Harry, and I was hit by Ron aiming for Malfoy. Amber and I were a bit stunned. We looked at each other and had one of our nonverbal conversations. We both walked up to our attackers and punched them both square in the face. I hit Ron in the nose and once I hit it, it stared bleeding. A lot…oops. Mad-Eye Moody showed up, pulling the boys off the floor and telling us to follow. We were in trouble so off we go to Professor McGonagall's office.

"What happened this time?" McGonagall looked upset, like always.

"You see Professor, I punched someone. I decided that I needed to assert my dominance in the pack by displaying…." Enter Snape. He was the creepy-ish teacher that Amber now had a thing for and he was able to make her forget how to talk….and how not to drool for that matter. Everyone was staring at her staring at him staring at her…this staring contest ends now!

"Okay, so here's what really happened. Amber and I were just walking down the hall, when we heard Ron and Draco having a spat, as you people would say…or do you have rows over here? I don't even know anymore. Anyhoo, so we are just walking and then we get hit by curses, so we punched our attackers. I mean, I was afraid for my life. What if a crazy man tried to kill me so he could wear my skin as a hat or something? I know Amber was thinking the same thing and poof! Now you've got two punch victims on your hands." I looked over at Ron who probably now had a broken nose and then I looked at Malfoy who had an eye swelling up….yup, that thing was gonna be a shiner!

"Um… yeah," Amber said with a blush, looking away from our potions teacher.

"Well. I must say I am very disappointed in you two. It's the first day of school and you have already gotten your selves into trouble. I admit I could expect this sort of thing from Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, or Mr. Malfoy, but from you? Two brand new students!"

"Well Professor," Amber said looking up at Professor McGonagall, "I'm not gonna lie, your probably gonna be seeing us in hear a lot."

"That or in Dumbledore's office," I said with a shrug, "whichever is easier for you."

"We don't really care either way," Amber smiled.

"Well I think that we could let you by with a warning."

"Minerva," Snape said, his cold voice cutting her off. "Mr. Malfoy is going to have a black eye, and Mr. Weasley's nose is most likely broken. I do not think a warning will work for this situation."

"I suppose you are right. In that case twenty house points from each of you. Now off you go! You will be late to dinner!"

It was the first day of school, and we already had Gryffindor in negative house points. This year was gonna be very interesting.

Later…

"I feel like we've really accomplished something here Amber." I said as we where cleaning up the potions room for detention. "I mean we haven't even been here a month and we've already gotten not only the Gryffindors to hate us but every other house in the school hates us. Plus all the teachers, all the French, and every single guy with a boom-boom stick hates me and they can't stop drooling over you." Once again, I was ranting. Big shocker, I know but when your friends with Amber, you have to talk a lot so that she might hear some of what is being said.

Speaking of drooling, Snape walked into the room and Amber…well if she was zoning before then, good God.

"Miss Royal, Miss Evens," he said in his cold voice, "less talking, more cleaning." I nodded to show that I understood. Once he was out of earshot, I began babbling again.

"Can you believe this? We can't even talk while doing a detention we don't even deserve? This is all that stupid Ron's fault. The jerk!" Earlier today, during potions, the golden trio was being more bothersome then usual. Hermione was going on about something, God only knows what, and Ron and Harry seemed extra pissy about something dumb.

"I heard that because of the Triwizard thing we won't have Quidditch this year." Harry was telling a group of Gryffindors.

"But I've been training all summer. This can't be happening." Ron whined. What the eff is Quidditch? Note: "eff" is not what I thought. I was thinking more along the lines of a "duck" beginning with that sound (if you have no idea what I'm thinking then stop reading now. I can't deal with your stupidity after the day of hell I've had.) I must ask.

"Excuse me, gentlemen but what the eff is Quidditch?" Note: this time I did say "eff" not, um, "duck".

"What do you mean what is it?" Harry and Ron asked me, almost at the same time.

"I mean what is it?" Were they really that dense?

"Quidditch, my simple American lamb, is only the best sport known to mankind." Malfoy had joined the conversation.

"Okay, first of all I am not a lamb, anyone's lamb, let alone yours… that was just weird for everyone, that expression and I feel rather violated. Was it a pick up line? If it was, maybe you should try it on Amber. She likes you more then I do." he was now glaring at me. "And two, what's the big deal if Quidditch is out this year? Sports aren't everything you know." Now Harry and Ron joined Malfoy in the glaring.

"Hey guys!" Amber came in the classroom just in time. "What's up?" silence. "Kate? Why does everyone look like they want to kill you?"

"Because we do." Malfoy looked Amber right in the eye when he said this. Well I guess I won't be getting any help from her on this one. I looked over to Ron and Harry who both had their wands drawn. Was that really needed? I didn't even know a charm, let alone how to duel.

"Boys, be nice." Hermione said and then dove into a long explanation as to why sports aren't for everyone.

"Thanks Hermione but I think if they were going to do anything to hurt me, they would've done it already. Besides, I can take 'em." I turned my back to them and headed toward my seat. As I was walking, Ron tripped me and I knocked over a few cauldrons and they spilled everywhere. Harry and Ron were laughing.

"Real mature guys." I said, rolling my eyes. If tripping me was the best they could do then I had nothing to worry about…except Amber. She came out of la-la-land and saw me trip.

"How dare you!" she went over to Ron and slapped him. "What did Kate ever do to deserve a push and a shove from you?" she moved to slap Harry. "And who cares if a sport got cut this year? There's not a theatre at this school but you don't see me and Kate complaining." By this point, she had moved next to the door, where Malfoy was. She wanted to slap him and then Snape walked though the door. The sound of the slap echoed in the dungeon classroom and Snape's check was growing a red hand mark. Without flinching he gave me and Amber detention.

"I'm just so sick of everyone trying to fight with us." Amber said. She was way too pissed off to be daydreaming.

"I know! I hate it here." We were both sick of everything, on the verge of tears.

"Hey, hey, hey, it isn't all that bad, is it?" Fred Weasley said from behind us. He had heard everything we said.

"If you two went home," George said coming in the room, "who would we kidnap out of detention?" without saying anything else, George blind-folded me, picked me up, and through me over his shoulder.

Amber's Point of View

I couldn't see a thing, and I have this phobia of not being able to see, so the whole "kidnapping session" was not fun… at all… I hated it… yeah. I was actually really proud of myself, I didn't scream once. This may have been because I had gone into a state of shock, but let's not get caught up in the details. To my left I could hear Kate cursing up a storm and felt a little better. Kate and I have been through a lot together, and I always felt better about situations knowing that we would have each other's back.

Thanks to the blind fold I was not actually sure where we were going but I had a feeling that we were leaving the dungeons. It was getting late, so we had not run into anyone in the hallways. I am sure if we did the twins would have been asked what they were doing hauling two blindfolded girls over their shoulders.

"And… here we are!" Fred said proudly, gently placing me on the ground and removing my blindfold. He kept his hand on my lower back as I regained my balance; the blindfold had made me feel a bit dizzy.

"And you brought us to the Great Hall because…?" Kate asked, sitting down on a nearby bench.

"We have decided to invite you to join us in a…project," George said, throwing his brother a smirk.

"Now we don't just invite anyone to help us, so you two should feel honored," Fred said with a nod and a smile that lit up his whole face.

"And if we decide that we don't want to help?" I asked, leaning on Fred slightly as I tried to stop the spinning.

"Trust me, you'll want in on this," Fred said, carefully leading me over to the front of the Great Hall. "Tell me, do you know what this is?" Fred asked, looking at a white circle that was on the ground.

"…it's some sort of age line, right? To keep the younger students from entering the Triwizard tournament,"

"Exactly," George said, walking over with Kate.

"So what does it have to do with your 'project'?" Kate asked, raising an eyebrow in interest.

"Well you see my brother and I tried to trick this line, but as it turns out the line is a lot smarter than we thought a line could be," George said, glaring down at the line like it could feel his angry stare.

"So we have brought you here to help us with our revenge," Fred said, reaching into his cloak, pulling out two bottles of soda.

"Soda?" I asked. "How are you go-"

"Believe me, this may not be the most juvenile prank my brother and I have ever pulled but it seemed like a good idea,"

"What did?" Kate asked.

"What are goblets used for?" Fred asked as he took the cap off one of the sodas.

"They hold… really? Don't tell me-"

"Ok, I won't," Fred said smiling at me, handing me a soda. George and Kate had their own sodas.

"On the count of three," George said with a grin.

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three!" The twins cheered together.

We all started swinging our arms, causing soda to slosh all over the place. The age line kept us at a distance but we were actually able to get a lot of soda into the goblet. Well, Kate and I did. After a few seconds the ginger twins started pouring the soda on each other. Soon we had given up on the goblet all together and were involved in what I was sure Hogwarts' first soda war. We were all laughing so hard that we didn't notice that we had an audience.

"What do you think you are doing…?"

We all froze, instantly recognizing the voice. I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing that this was just a bad dream and that I would wake up soon. This was not happening… we were so dead. Not only that, I was now covered head to foot in sticky, sugary soda. I probably looked like some kind of drowned cat. Taking a deep breath I opened my eyes and looked up into a pair of coal colored eyes.

"Hello Professor Snape," I said quietly.


	2. Chapter 2

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Thanks to the ginger twins, the four of us now all had detention for the next two months and we all had to be with a different teacher. I had Snape meaning Amber did not meaning she was "going to die." Her words, not mine.

"I can't believe you get to be with him!" she was complaining the whole way down to the Great Hall. "I mean you get the most mysterious, sexiest, all round awesome-est man ever! And I get an old bat. Why does God hate me? Why do I have to be with McGonagall?" Why did God hate me? Snape will kill me in the first week. Grrrr to you fate, grrr.

"Cheer up dudes. The Triwizard Champions are being chosen tonight." Fred said happily as we took our seats for the cup ceremony thing.

"Dudes?!" Amber was upset. "If you are going to use American slag, use it properly!" She was still very upset.

"Shh…the cup is being-"

"A cup?" I was in no mood to talk about the cup being a cup. Then the cup spit out fire….okay, more like puked up fire, but still…

"The Champion for Durmstrag," Dumbledore announced loudly looking at the piece of parchment that was just in the fire "will be Victor Krum." Everyone clapped and it looked like the whole golden trio was in love with Krum. Ron and Harry were clearly closeted gays.

"Are we done yet?" I asked, wanting to go upstairs, crawl in my sock drawer and sleep for days.

"Calm down Kate," George told me quietly, "just two more to get though." I sighed.

"The champion for Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore, "will be Fleur Delacour!"

"Potter, Weasley, down in front." Amber whispered to them.

"But we aren't standing." Harry pointed out. Dot, dot, dot. Even when Amber is upset she is able to make an erection joke that can make me smile.

"The Hogwarts champion," Dumbledore called, "is Cedric Diggory." YAAY! Now we are done! But no. No, no, no, no, no! The cup had to spit out one more name. "Harry Potter." Oh, I am shock to my very core that Harry Potter is a champion. The hall went silent as Harry walked into the champion chamber. Everyone started to whisper about what just happened. I got up to leave when Amber grabbed my arm.

"Look." She pointed toward the goblet. Yet another name flew out of it. Dumbledore once again caught the paper. He cleared his throat. I couldn't tell if he was amused or upset. He read the paper.

"Amber Royal, could you come up here please." While he was waiting, he turned the paper over. "Katharine Evans, come up here as well." I guess the goblet didn't like the soda war…and now, for punishment, Amber and I were Champions.

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I felt like the air had been knocked out of me. I wasn't a big fan of getting attention like this, and now as Kate and I walked up to Dumbledore it felt as if all eyes were on us. Passing the table where all the teachers sat, we got looks of disappointment. I suppose that they were not really happy about the three extra names that popped out of the goblet. As we passed Snape I couldn't stop the words that wanted to some out of my mouth.

"We didn't do this!" I said to him, looking at his emotionless face. "I swear… we didn't put our names in that goblet! This isn't a joke; we don't think this is funny!"

"I think it's kind of funny…" Kate said with a smirk. I shot her a glare, now wasn't the time for her… Kateness.

"You need to believe me…" I pleaded. I knew that the students at this school didn't really like me and Kate. We were different and crazy in a random sort of way… but I was ok with that. I was never popular. But for some reason… I cared about what he though.

"Miss Royal, please. Go to the champion's chamber," Dumbledore said, placing his hand on my back and leading me to the door. I glanced over my shoulder and locked eyes with Snape. He probably disliked me now more then before. Great.

As Kate and I entered the chamber we were met with an awkward silence. The four other champions were starring at us. Three of them looked angry, and Harry looked kind of scared. Now that I think about it, he wasn't supposed to be in this back room either.

"Great, more champions," Fleur said, tossing her long blonde hair over one shoulder.

"Maybe Hogwarts is just that awesome," Kate said, going to stand by Harry and Cedric.

"That or apparently we need one hell of a handicap…" I said with a shrug.

After a couple of minutes of awkward silence the door to the Great Hall swung open. Dumbledore came walking in, followed by Mr. Crouch, Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Professor McGonagall, and Snape. Snape… great this night just keeps getting better.

"What is ze meaning of zis Dumbly-dorr?" Madame Maxime yelled, clearly upset.

"Yes, why is it that Hogwarts now has four champions?! The rest of the schools only get one!" Karkaroff yelled, grabbing Krum's arm and pulling him over to him.

"Please, if we could all calm down for a bit, I am sure we can figure this out," Dumbledore said.

"And what about the age line? If we knew younger students could participate we would have brought a wider variety of students from our own schools!" Karkaroff said with a sneer.

"The age line works just fine!" McGonagall said.

"Harry, Kate, Amber… this is of great importance," Dumbledore said, leaning over a bit so he was eye level with us. "Did you put your names in the goblet of fire?"

"No," Harry said. Snape made a soft noise of impatient disbelief in the shadows.

"Alright, what about you Miss Evens?"

"I didn't put my name in there," Kate said.

"And Miss Royal?"

I locked eyes with Snape and took a deep breath. "I swear, I did not put my name in that cup,"

"So what, we are just going to go on their words? Well if they didn't then who did?" Madame Maxime asked.

Next thing I knew Karkaroff had grabbed me by the front of my robs and lifted me off the ground. "How did you do it? How did you get your name in the goblet?! Did you have an older student do it for you?! WELL?!" I was know being shaken and was beginning to get a bit dizzy. I am not a big fan of being shaken…

"No! I didn't do anything! I promise!"

"Karkaroff," It was Snape. "Put her down."

After a moment the man set me back on the ground. There was much talking between the adults, and soon we were told to go back to our rooms and that we would be talked to later. On the way back to Gryffindor, Harry, Kate, and I were met by McGonagall.

"What's going on?" Harry asked.

"Well as it seems at the moment, Hogwarts will be having three champions,"

"Three?" Harry asked. "Kate and Amber are not going to both compete?"

"Well their names were both on one paper… and the other schools were about to have one hell of a fit if we had four… so Miss Evens and Miss Royal will take turns in the challenges,"

"But I don't like to share." Kate said with a pout.

"We will discuss this more in depth with you all tomorrow. Have a good night sleep, and remember you two still have detention."

"Darn, we were hoping this would have made you forget," I said with a sigh.

By the time we actually got to bed we were too tired to notice that the number of glares we normally got had not only increased, but their intensity was now worse. Yeah… we were not liked…

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It's not easy being green…not that I am green but it is a very fitting statement for life lately. Kermit the Frog has no idea… I wasn't liked from the start but now everyone's dislike for me had turned into hate. I hate people. I feel anti-social at the moment. Maybe an afternoon of Facebook and music would cheer me up before my time with Snape in detention.

"Are you sure you don't want me to get you any food?" Amber asked as she was getting ready to head down stairs for dinner.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I'm gonna do all that homework we were given." I didn't want to see anyone, not after all the rumors and staring all throughout the day so the thought of going down for dinner made me want to puke.

"Okay, well I guess I'll see you later?" I nodded and then she went down stairs to dinner. I got all the homework done after about an hour then I pulled out my laptop and I opened my iTunes. I had been alone for a while now and I wished I had someone to talk to. As if summoned by my thought, Ron Weasley walked into the common room…great. We locked eyes for a moment. I looked back to my laptop and stared typing as quickly as I could. I felt his eyes still on me.

"May I help you?" I asked, not looking up at him.

"Sorry, I'm just not used to being around people like you."

"I'm going to take that a complement." I said, smiling up at him. It clearly was not a complement.

"You and your friend are the only Americans I've ever met. I thought that Americans were all cheerleaders and-" he wasn't looking at me.

"How's your nose?" I asked changing the subject. It didn't look broken anymore. "It looks like it's healing quickly."

"Oh, Hermione fixed it." He said rubbing at it. God, Hermione and Ron should just bone and make life easier on everyone.

"I'm sorry I did that… I just-" I punch you in the face after a day from hell…that's what I wanted to say but I couldn't find the words.

"Don't worry about it. I would've punched me too. And sorry about the whole Quidditch thing." He smiled at me and I couldn't help but smile back. "So…" he said as he sat next down next to me.

"So?" I change my mind; I don't anyone to talk to.

"What's America like?" I raised my eyebrows at him. He could tell I didn't want to answer this question for the millionth time. "Sorry." He said as he looked down at the floor. "I'm sure you've had to answer that question about a million times." Wait, what? Did, did we just share a thought. Me being on the same wave-length as this ginger-sports-nut made me kinda weirded out.

"Oh, it's fine." At least he was trying to make conversation. Because I'm not a total bitch, I answered the question about America (for the millionth time) and everything was great. We talked about classes and I helped him get started on some of his homework. He didn't seem to be a total ass when he was by himself. Maybe I didn't give Ron enough credit. He seemed truly sorry about getting me into detention and he can be really nice and funny and so what if he is part of the golden trio? Who cares? Speaking of golden trio…

"So are you, like, suuuper excited for Harry?" I asked in my best valley-girl impression.

"What do you mean?" he asked bitterly.

"If my best friend was a Triwizard Champion, I'd be pretty damn excited for them. Aren't you excited to see Harry compete?"

"I would be if he told me he put his name in the damned cup!" oh my! I wanted to defend Harry and talk some sense into Ron but Amber just walked in.

"Well, I think I better go." Ron said angrily, getting up. He was out the door before I could say goodbye. His leaving left a weird emptiness in me. Why was that? I shouldn't feel like a piece of me left when he left, unless…dear Jesus, no…I can't…

"What was that about?" Amber asked.

"I think…I might like him." The last minutes talking with him was great, it was the first time since I got here that I felt normal and saying these words out loud made me feel a little less hollow.

"You're kidding. Him? You can't like him!" Amber was shocked. I think if we were a few years older and we were having this conversation she would have a heart-attack.

"Why not?" I asked bitterly. Was she actually going to put down one of the few things that made me happy of the past few weeks? After I listened to her endless Snape commentary?

"Well, first of all, he hates us." She had a point, he hadn't been the nicest guy to us, "second, he's Fred and George's little brother," another good point. If Ron and I started dating and then had to break it off, Fred and George (who at this point my only friends here besides Amber) would side with Ron. "And third," Amber continued, "his part of the golden trio."

"Say no more. I get it. I was being stupid." I know when I've lost a fight but I'll just like Ron in secret, Amber doesn't have to know.

"You were. Now, let's find you a better guy for you." As soon as the words fell out of her mouth, Seamus Finnigan walked over to us. He looked nervous.

"May I help you?" Amber said. That's what I said to Ron…oh Ron…no, no Ron. Stop brain, bad! No, stop it, don't make him do that. STOP THINKING! Quick, listen to what Amber is doing….

"Um…Kate?" Seamus looked at me then back to the floor, "do, do you have the potions homework done."

"Yeah, but I don't think I did it right…do you want to borrow it?" why else would he ask?

"I, um, ah, um…sure." Amber handed it to him and he practically ran away.

"That was odd." Amber said smirking. I know what she was thinking.

"No." I said flatly. "don't do anything about my love life until I get back from detention." I knew that when I left she would run up to Seamus and tell him I love him and that I have a shrine to him under my bed and wish to bare his children or something weird like that. She agreed not to do anything (reluctantly) and I was off to detention. And when I came back, things were weird…

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Kate likes Ron?! How long was I in the Great Hall? I was sure she hated him when I left… I mean we're not even friends with the guy! We are just starting to become semi acquaintances with the other two members of the golden trio, Harry and Hermione, but I mean they are tolerable. They don't make me want to swallow a porcupine! But then there's Ron, the ginger wonder. I've only been aware of my wizarding powers for a little more than a year and I think I'm better at it then he is! The first years are better at magic then he is! This was madness, and this isn't even Sparta!

My mind came up with the only possible answer for her liking someone like him… she was lonely. We were never popular, and from the moment the goblet of fire spat out our names things had only gotten worse. People avoided us like we were the black plague, and if they decided to talk to us we would be bombarded with insults. Kate was a social person; she needed to talk to others… Ron talked to her… so that social part of her mind grabbed onto him… that's it! That has to be the explanation! I need to do something before this situation spirals out of control. I would find her a worthy partner… but who… hmm… oh look, it's Seamus. Hi Seamus! …THAT'S IT! He's perfect! Now to put my evil plan into action.

"Hey Finnigan! Wait up!" I yelled, running after him.

"Hey Royal, what's up?" He asked, stopping so I could catch up with him.

"You didn't need the potions homework, did you," I said, giving him a knowing smile.

"I… I… uh… no. I didn't," Seamus said, looking at the floor.

"So then why did you ask for Kate's work?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

He sighed and then looked up at me. "Promise you won't tell?" I nodded. "Well I was going to talk to her, and when I opened up my mouth to say something witty or funny, all that came out was "do you have the potions homework done". I mean, how lame was that?!"

"So you like her then…" Seamus just blushed. "Well I've got some advice for you," He tilted his head to one side, looking confused. "Turn around, go back in there, wait for her detention to be over with, and talk to her god damnit! And don't give me any of this "did you do the homework" shit. Strike up a conversation. She likes music, books, and people falling down stairs. Get to it," I gave him a shove towards the portrait of the Fat Lady. When he looked like he was about to say something, I just glared at him. He ran into the common room and I gave myself a mental pat on the back.

Pawns were so easily movable. Seamus was the perfect pawn, and I'd use him to protect my Queen and take out the opposing rook. In the big chess game that was my life, Ron Weasley was nothing but a rook, more significant than a pawn, but he was no knight or king. Kate being my best friend made her the Queen in today's particular chess game. Man I was feeling awfully manipulative and evil today… I guess now would be a good time to go listen to my evil villain play list on my ipod. It was full of Disney's greatest bad guys and their awesome songs, and other villainous character's songs. It was wonderful for a time like this, for I had much plotting to do.

When I walked back into the common room after my own detention, I found Kate and Seamus talking and laughing. Yep, things were moving along wonderfully. Check Mate.

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I haven't said anything before now because I didn't want to jinx it but I think I'm actually having a good time at Hogwarts. After about a month of glares and rumors I think I'm ready for anything the school has left to throw at me. I have a few closer friends, no more detention (for now anyways), and I have a guy who seems kind of interested in me (I feel flattered but confused at the same time). Things are looking up… for the most part, that is. I still can't stop thinking about Ron. Why? I have no idea…I wish I did so that I could fix it and not have to deal with him every again but no. no, no, NO! My brain won't stop thinking about him. I have no idea why he has this effect on me (guys normally are just friends to me and don't get me so side tracked) but there is something about him. Something that made my mind wander…was this what it feels like to be Amber?

"Kate? May I sit with you?" Harry Potter was now standing in front of me in the library. He looked upset about something. I like Harry, he's a decent guy (as far as teenage boys can be decent), and I felt bad for him right now so I could help him in any way possible.

"Sure." He sat and started his essay for Snape. "You know, um, I just finished my essay if you want you could look at it. It might save you some time." He looked up at me slowly.

"Are you sure?" his voice was uneasy.

"Of course; besides, I'm sure you got enough to worry about with the first task being tomorrow." Amber was doing this task, I would do the second task and we would work as a team in the final task.

"Thank you." He took my paper and began reading it. He suddenly stated under his breath "Amber is lucky."

"Harry, what are you talking about?"

"Amber is lucky to have a friend like you. You two trust each other and can joke about things and…she's just very lucky. You're lucky to have each other." He gave me a weak smile.

"Is this about Ron?" I heard through the grapevine that Ron and Harry weren't really friends anymore because of Harry's name coming out of the cup and Ron being jealous and overacting and why did I like Ron again? He's kind of an ass hat.

"It's not just Ron. It's Hermione, too. She won't stop worrying about me and won't stop talking about the first task and if I have to read one more book on dragons I might explode." He looked frustrated and I was going to comfort him but...

"Dragons? What do dragons have to do with anything?"

"That's the first task, something to do with dragons."

"Wow."

"You should go talk to Amber about the task."

"She can wait." I looked Harry in the eyes and I took his hand from across the table (which was very out of character for me), "Look, Hermione cares about you and you know that tomorrow you're bound to use something that she taught you." He nodded. "And as for Ron, he's a jerk. If he can't see what a great person you are than screw him, it's his loss." Harry dropped his gaze, no longer looking into my eyes.

"I know but his been my best friend for years. I hate being alone and-"

"You're not alone. You think you're alone now? Look at me and Amber, we only got each other…and Fred and George, I guess, but they're only friends with us because we are 'novelties'." Harry looked back up at me. "Tell you what, tonight, you, Amber, and I will have dinner, go find an empty classroom and watch crappy movies until we can barely keep our eyes open, then tomorrow you'll be all fresh and ready for the first tack. Deal?"

"Deal." We shook on it and that night Amber and I became friends with Mr. Harry Potter.

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"A dragon Kate! A DRAGON! What am I going to do?! I mean I got the feeling that we in trouble when that stupid cup spat our names out, fourth years in a seventh year competition?! But I thought we would be able to scrape by…. BUT A DRAGON?! I'm screwed! We missed three years at this school, I am just catching up to all the other kids, let alone being able to know how to beat an effin DRAGON!"

"I know our odds are not looking to good right now, but I know that if-" Kate started.

"If what?! I get paired with a really, REALLY old dragon and I just hide until it just suddenly dies of a heart attack?! Cause I'm thinking that's the only way I could possibly get out of this alive! A dragon… a pixie or a unicorn, that's something more my speed, I could handle that. I'd bring along a fly swatter and a lasso or something. But how in the hell am I supposed to beat a dragon?!"

"Amber, I am sure if we just think this through, maybe stop by the library-"Hermione said, putting her hand on my back.

"I could get some books to throw at the dragon?! Brilliant! Just brilliant! That is exactly what I should do!" With that I grabbed my jacket off the back of my chair, pulled on my converse, and left the common room. I needed to go on a walk.

I soon found myself sitting in front of the giant lake that was on the school grounds, skipping stones across the glassy surface.

"A dragon…" I mumbled to myself. "Only way this could be any worse was if I had to fight the dragon underwater," I could not swim.

"You know Royal, talking to your self is one of the first stages of madness! If you really are going mad then I could be more than happy to lead you to the nearest asylum!" I looked over my shoulder to find Malfoy and Snape staring at me from up the hill.

"If that would get me out of this stupid tournament, then by all means, point the way!" I shouted up to them. The smirk on Malfoy's face dropped.

"You drop out you can't win the money or the fame… don't you want that?! I mean a mud blood like you could probably use it!" Malfoy shouted.

"I think I'll pass. I'd rather live if it's all the same to you!" I heard Snape mutter something to Malfoy and saw Malfoy turn and start walking towards the castle. Snape walked down the hill to stand next to me. He cleared his throat.

"As a professor here at Hogwarts, I have been told by Dumbledore that I need to start taking more interest in my students and… care," He said the word like it tasted like something putrid. "So… what's up home slice?"

I don't think Voldemort himself could have taken that with a straight face. I burst out laughing, clutching my stomach, trying to catch my breath. I rolled on my side, continuing to laugh. Snape just looked down at me, glaring.

"Wha-what was t-that?!" I asked through laughs.

"Isn't that how you American teenagers converse with each other?" Snape asked, looking completely serious.

"Not unless you were born and raised in the ghetto," I said whipping tears from my eyes. Snape just rolled his eyes. We both just stared out at the lake for a while, the sun setting over the glossy surface.

"Hey… could I ask you something?" I asked, looking up at him.

Snape glanced down at me. "You already did," he said with that Slytherin smirk that was like code for "we think we are better then you in every way, you stupid non Slytherin".

"Fine smartass, be that way," I said looking at the lake again. "So… how would you defeat a dragon?"

"What?" I looked up to find him staring at me like I had grown another head.

"You know, a dragon, big lizard like thing. How would you defeat one?"

"What made you want to know this?"

"Oh, nothing," I shrugged. "As a kid I always thought it would be so cool to meet a dragon. Now that I know they are real I can't help but wonder what it would be like to have to fight one. So that's what got me wondering, 'How would I beat a dragon?' So, how would you?"

Snape sighed, and after a moment he joined me on the ground. "Well… I suppose a lot of it has to do with the type of dragon you are fighting…"

A couple of days ago, heck this morning, if you told me I would spend three hours talking to Professor Snape without fainting, then I would have laughed in your face and then taken you down to the hospital wing, worrying about your state of mind. But here I was, three hours later, still talking to my snarky potions professor.

"…they are actually really slow creatures. Getting by them would not be so hard, as long as you keep a wary eye on its thirteen heads."

"You sure do know a lot about dragons… I bet you would make an amazing defense against the dark arts professor! Have you ever considered it?" I asked, hugging me knees to my chest, resting my chin on my knees.

"Once or twice…" Snape mumbled, more to himself then me.

When he wasn't yelling at some student or trying to terrify someone, he really did have nice features. He was- what was that? I felt my nose, feeling a little wet spot. Then there was another, and another, and another. Before I could say supercalafragalisticexpialad oshus it was pouring rain. I loved the rain. I stood up and laughed. I ran up the hill and spun in a circle, arms held open wide. The cold water droplets felt amazing on my skin. I could feel my hair and clothes stick to my skin. I was drenched. When I stopped spinning I found Snape, still sitting in that same spot, starring up at me. His face held no emotion, he just watched. The rain always made me feel giddy, almost high, so what I did next I hadn't really though through. I ran down the hill, grabbed Snape's hand, and pulled him up (though I am sure it was more him getting up then me pulling him up, I wasn't very strong…) Then I ran, Snape keeping up with his long strides. I laughed as we went, slipping in the mud a couple of times, only to have Snape hold me up.

By the time we were inside the school I was having a full on giggle fit. We were both soaking wet, looking like we had just jumped into the lake. I smiled up at him; the butterflies in my stomach were having a field day. I tried to calm down, but I was far to giddy at the moment.

"Well… thanks! You know, for the dragon info! And… yeah!" I said between laughs. Snape said nothing, just kept looking at me. "Well, it's late! I don't want to miss dinner so I'm gonna go now! Goodnight professor!" Before I could think it through, I hugged him. By the time I realized what I was doing I quickly pulled away. I could feel my cheeks heat up with a blush. "I…um… I'm… bye!" I turned and ran down the hallway that would lead me to the grand staircase.

"Miss Royal!" I froze. "Twenty points from Gryffindor for calling a professor a "Smartass", five points from Gryffindor for running, ten points for touching a professor inappropriately … and five points to Gryffindor for a decent afternoon. Goodnight Miss Royal," I spun around to look at him. Did I hear him right? Did he just imply that he had fun with me this afternoon? Well, maybe not fun… but he didn't hate it?! He was already on his way to the dungeons. I know that I had just cost my house thirty house points, but I couldn't stop the smile that was now on my face.

The rest of the afternoon I spent with Kate and Potter. We found an abandoned class room near the common rooms, brought our dinner there and found a spell to project some movies from Kate's laptop onto the wall. It was a really nice evening, full of laughter, good food and good movies. Potter and I talked about the challenge tomorrow and then we called it a night and went to bed. To be honest, it was one of the best days I had since being at the school.

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Amber was less than pleased about the dragon news. Luckily talking to Harry made it easier to comfort her…or try. After I told her the news, she flipped out, yelled at everything in the room that had a pulse and left the common room.

"Shouldn't we go after her?" Hermione asked who had watched me tell Amber the pleasant news.. She was clearly in a panic and needed to be slapped (or maybe I just needed to slap someone).

I shook my head. "When Amber gets like this, it's best to leave her alone. Unless you want to see her head explode, I recommend staying here." Harry (who was also witness to the drangon news) smiled at the thought of Amber's head exploding because of Hermione and her "helping".

"Well fine." Hermione huffed (Hermione and Amber are kinda friends but for some reason I can't stand her. For Amber's sake I try to be nice but…) "Harry, you and I should go back to the library and do more research." I clearly wasn't getting an invite…maybe my dislike for Hermione was mutual. She clearly didn't want me around and that was fine by me.

"Have fun." Harry and Hermione left and I was all alone. I was just me and my thoughts. I haven't really had time to think about anything but this stupid Triwizard thing… only is it now a Sexwizrad thing? I mean there are six of us. I guess the school can't really get away with a sex tournament. No, Kate, stop thinking about this stupid game thing. Oh, I know! I now had a task (emailing people back home) and the second I started working on it, my favorite person in the whole wide world came in (sarcasm).

"Hey Kate. What are you up to?" Ron Weasley came and sat next to me. I didn't look up from my laptop; I refused to notice he was there. "Where's Amber? Shouldn't you be helping your friend get ready for the first task?"

"I could ask you the same question." I wasn't trying to be a bitch…okay maybe I was; bitch just comes very natural to me. Ron just made me want to be a bitch to him and the fact that he was so chipper while Harry (who's in the same boat as Amber) was on the verge of a mental break down bothered me. And the fact that my feelings for him were still a big question mark didn't help.

"I'm sorry?" he was clearly pissed off about my last comment.

"Harry is freaking out about the first task and have you helped him at all? No. you've been holding a grudge against him ever since his name came out of the cup." He opened his mouth to defend himself but I cut him off. "I know you feel betrayed and like Harry has been lying to you but really, Ron? If three underage wizards got entered into this tournament, don't you think that we were all entered by the same person or spell or whatever? If you're gonna be mad at Harry, fine, but be a man for once in your life, put your feelings aside and help your best friend. Be mad at him after his life is out of danger." As I finished my rant/lecture, it started to rain outside. "Now, if you'll excuse me." I stood up and walked toward the girls' dormitories to put my laptop away. I glanced over my shoulder and Ron was just staring after me. I really hope he was looking after because of what I said and not because of…well why I looked back. I'll worry about that later. Now to find Amber and go to dinner.


	3. Chapter 3

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I sat in the champions tent, getting into my uniform. I pulled on my finger less gloves and took deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. I felt like I was going to puke.

"Do you have a plan?" Kate asked, helping me lace up my boots.

"Well… at first I was thinking about summoning some sort of sword but…. I don't want to hurt the thing. I mean it's not like it wants to hurt me, they are making it do this… oh I am so screwed," I groaned, placing my face in my hands.

"Just breathe, you can do this,"

The time came all too soon when we had to find out what kind of dragon we would be facing. When it was my turn, I swore my heart was about to beat out of my chest. Holding my breath I reached into the bag, feeling around for one of the dragons. Instead of choosing one, one seemed to choose me. I felt the skin on my finger break as something bit me. With a yelp I pulled my hand out of the bag, a tiny dragon dangling off the end. The dragon had two heads attached to two long snake like necks.

"What is it?" I asked, never seeing anything like it before. The freakishly tall woman began to laugh and everyone one went off to their corner of the tent to finish getting ready. "Kate… I have no idea what this is!"

"Isn't it obvious? It's a dragon!" Kate smirked.

"Oh gee thanks for the help," I sighed.

Soon Kate had to leave and the trial began. One by one the other contestants left the tent until it was just me and Potter. We sat on one of the beds, holding our dragons. We sat in silence, not really knowing what to say. Soon we heard the sound of cheering and applause and I felt my stomach drop out of my body. I was going to be sick…

"I know it might seem like much at this point… but good luck," Harry said with a small sigh.

"Thanks," I said, getting up off the bed. I placed the dragon in a small cage I had been given and made my way over to the flap in the tent. "Oh… Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"If for some reason this all goes horribly wrong and I die or become a vegetable or something like that… look after Kate, will ya? I'd never forgive myself if I knew I left her here alone,"

Harry smiled and nodded. "Sure thing,"

And with that I left the tent, walking towards my trial.

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Today is the day; either Amber is going to die and leave me alone in this hell hole or she will kick some major ass and we will be not as hated…hopefully.

"Are you ready for this Kate?" Fred asked as I walked from the champions' tent to the stand. I wasn't. I was so worried but for Amber's sake I had to put on a brave face and stay calm…like a duck. On the surface they look calm and duck like but under the water, holy crap, they are kicking for dear life. Today is a very duck like day.

"I guess." I shrugged.

"Well, I hate to be the one to inform you Kate, but-" George began.

"-we won't be able to sit with you during this little game." Fred finished.

"What?!" Why did they have to leave me? They were my only friends here…well aside from Amber but she was a bit preoccupied.

"We have to collect bets. You can't expect us to sit and watch the tournament like good little boys, can you?" And with that, Fred and George disappeared into the crowd. Great. Now what?

"Kate, can I talk to you?" I turned round and saw Ron running after me. This day just keeps getting better.

"What do you want?" I was in no mood to deal with him so the sooner I can get this over with the better. I was still walking towards the stands and Ron was having trouble keeping up with my quick pace. He grabbed my hand and pulled me off to the side.

"I wanted to tell you…um…I…"

"Weasley, Evans, get into the stands." McGonagall spotted us and saved me from looked like the start of a very awkward conversation. I followed McGonagall up to the stands, Ron following close behind. When we got up to the stands, Hermione grabbed my arm, yanked me down next to her and told me that she saved me and Ron seats and blah blah blah…she was rambling again. I was about to look for someone else to sit with (because I was sitting next to Ron and he was still all [insert choice word here]!) but the first task had started so I was stuck. Duck my life.

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"Yeah… I am dead," I said to myself, now standing before the very life sized dragon. It thrashed all over, roaring and stomping it's feet.

"Our next match," a loud voice spoke over the stadium. "Is none other than Hogwarts's own Amber Royal. Today she is matched against The Hideous Zippleback! Let the trial begin!"

As if on cue the dragon lashed out at me. One of its heads' came mere inches from my face. A chain in the middle of the arena stopped it from going any further. I fell backwards in surprise, looking up at the giant creature now looming over me. I reached into my pocket to pull out my wand. Wand in hand I began running every spell I knew in my head. What could I use… what was the dragon doing? One of the heads spat up some weird smoke and the other a flame. With a loud bang from the explosion I was thrown back, my body hitting a wall.

"Oww…" I groaned, rubbing the back of my head. "Ok… so one head makes flame… the other… well I don't know, but if I can stop one head from making fire then no explosion!" Wand at the ready, I charged forward. Once I got close I realized one small problem… I could not remember the water spell. Too late to stop I was already in front of the dragon. One of its heads bit onto my leg and tossed me up into the air. I screamed all the way up, and when I reached the highest point it fell like time stopped. I looked around me, crowds of people, cheering and yelling, and under me a dragon just waiting to eat me. I fell down to my death, arms flailing. One of the heads caught my arm, the other had a leg. They started tugging like I was a toy. I screamed out in pain, feeling my arm pop out of the socket.

"Expulso!" I cried out, hoping the spell would work. Lucky for me it did, the spell going off in the dragons mouth. Unfortunately the head was the one with the gas, causing an explosion to go off. Shocked the dragons released me, sending me flying into one of the stands.

The people around me screamed as my body crashed into the stands. I looked around and found myself sprawled out in the stands, one of my sleeves and one of the legs of my pants torn off or burned away.

"Great…" I mumbled to myself. "Hey, has anyone seen my wand?"

"You're off to a great start Royal!" I spun around and found Malfoy and his Slytherins laughing at me a few rows away.

I bowed. "Well I am SO glad you are enjoying the show," I said sarcastically. "Now about my wand-"

"Over here Ms. Royal!" Dumbledore called out, using the spell that made his voice echo around the arena.

"Oh," I crawled up onto the ledge and ran around the arena until I got to the part of the bleachers where the staff was sitting. As I ran I passed where Kate and Hermione were sitting.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Kate yelled at me.

"Getting an egg from a two headed dragon, and how is sitting in the stands going?" I asked playfully.

"Be careful will you?" Kate said.

"Alright but be honest, how awesome must it have looked, me getting tossed up in the air like that?" Kate just laughed.

"Good luck Amber!" Hermione called out as I ran off to get my wand.

"How am I doing?" I asked when I got there, taking my wand from the headmaster.

"To be honest," he said with a sad smile. "not well."

"Yeah… I thought so. Hey, what happens if I pass out from pain and exhaustion?"

"You lose," the French woman said, nose in the air.

"Darn… well let's see if I can hold out a bit longer then huh?"

I crawled up to the ledge, getting ready to jump down.

"Royal," Snape called out to me. I looked back at him. He had this look on his face, one I could not name. "Do try not to kill yourself. We don't need this school getting any more bad publicity,"

I laughed. "I'll do my best!" With a huff I jumped back into the arena. "Alright… which head it which…?"

I ran up to the dragon and then jumped back, just missing the explosion. I did this a few times, trying to find out which was which. That's was, until the dragon ran out of gas, literally. One head went to cough up another cloud of smoke, but nothing came out.

"Aww, all out of juice? Well that's fine by me," The heads of the dragon started freaking out, lashing out all over the place, winding and unwinding with each other, when I suddenly got an idea. "That's it!"

I ran out to the dragon. It swiped at me with me with it claws and tried to bite me. I just kept running, moving all over the place in random directions. One head lashed at my feet, but I jumped over, ducking under the second head. I kept this up until there were no heads biting at me. I stopped and looked up. The dragon's heads were now very tangled in themselves.

"Yeah!" I called out, pumping my fist into the air.

I them ran over to the egg, holding it securely against my body. The crowd broke out into applause and cheering. I could not help the smile that broke out across my face. With all the strength I had left I held the egg up in the air. All of a sudden the crowd stopped cheering, and some people screamed out, but I could not understand what they were saying. Too late to look back I felt what must have been one of the dragon's heads crash into my back, sending my flying. Egg hugged to my chest I hit a wall once again.

With a groan I tried to get off the ground but I could not move. Out of the corner of my eye I saw people running at me. That was the last thing I saw, as my head started to spin and the world became dark. I blacked out.

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The first three competitors were really quick and performed fairly well. Now it was Amber's turn…And Hermione would not shut up. The one good thing about sitting next to Hermione is that her constant babble is one good way to not think about things that you don't want to think about. Like Ron who was…where did he go? I looked around and Ron was no longer sitting next to me. He was nowhere to be seen. What the fu-

"Did you see that?! Amber just got thrown into the stands!" I couldn't speak. Amber was going to die and…..

"What do you think you're doing?!" I yelled at her.

"Getting an egg from a two headed dragon! How is sitting in the stands going?" I do not find her playfulness funny at all right now.

"Be careful will you?" worried, worried, oh so worried!

"Alright but be honest, how awesome must it have looked, me getting tossed up in the air like that?" It must have looked awesome but unfortunately I missed it because of Ron…who is back now. Oh goody.

"Good luck Amber!" Hermione called out as I turned toward Ron.

"Where did you go?" I asked him, my tone less then amused because of Amber and her performance (or lack thereof).

"Why do you care?" Ron also sounded on edge. I opened my mouth to speak but Ron cut me off. "I went to try and see Harry. What you said to me last night got me thinking and I wanted to apologize before he went but I couldn't get down there." There was an awkward silence between us (not in the crowd; they were cheering as if Amber had gotten the egg and…holy crap, she did it!). "Thank you, Kate. If it weren't for you I probably would never forgive Harry." He looked deep into my eyes and then…

"Kate! Amber's hurt!" Hermione hadn't notice what just happened between me and Ron. I looked up and saw Amber passed out on the field, dragon still at large. I ran to the edge of the stands and jumped down to help her. When I got to her, Snape was holding her in his arms (which I'm sure would have made her faint if she had be conscience) and he told me to grab her egg and follow him to the hospital wing.

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Am I dead? What happened…? Oh yeah. Now I remember, I had my back turned on the dragon and it attacked me. It must have gotten untangled. So because I'm an idiot and turned my back on one of the most dangerous creatures known to man, I died. So was I in heaven? No… the bed I am in is far too uncomfortable for heaven. And all this darkness… I'm in Hell!

"I'm in Hell…" I moaned.

"Open your eyes you idiot."

"Hmm?" My eyes… oh! My eyes are closed. Well don't I feel stupid…

All the light that came rushing in was like a punch to the face. Once my eyes got settled to the light I took in my surroundings. I was in a bed in the hospital wing. Kate sat in a chair next to the bed. Harry, Hermione, Ron , Fred and George were standing all around my bed.

"Well it looks like Sleeping Beauty decided to get up," Fred joked.

"And we were just about to go prince hunting," George teased.

"The task… did I win?" I asked weakly.

"Just barely, you should consider yourself lucky."

"Professor Snape?" I had not noticed him in the back of the room, leaning against the wall.

"What were you thinking turning your back against a dragon? You're lucky you just got knocked around a bit. If that dragon had not been chained you could have died! You foolish girl…" he just pushed himself off the wall and left the room.

"That was Snape talk for, 'I am so relieved that you are alright it takes every bit of my will power not to just shag you where you lay'," Fred said, doing his best Snape impersonation.

"Fred!" I cried out, my face heating up with a crazy blush. "Not funny!"

"I thought it was spot on," George said, giving his twin a high five.

"Snape has a point though," Hermione said. "That was a really bad idea,"

Ron laughed. "Yeah, what were you thinking?"

"Hey you guys, give her a break," Kate said. "She got the egg after all."

"Thanks Kate," I said, grateful for my friend having my back. "Oh, I almost forgot! Harry, how did your trial go?" I asked, sitting up in my bed.

"I got it," Harry said grinning ear to ear. "You gotta see it, Gryffindor house has been having a non-stop party ever since we got back from the trial!"

I laughed. "Sounds great! Make sure to save me some grub, I do love party food,"

The gang spent a few hours in the hospital wing, talking with me until it was time for dinner. They all said there good buys and left. With a sigh I laid back down in the bed. I really hated being alone. After a bit Madam Pomfrey came by to check in on me.

"How are you feeling dear?" she asked, flipping through a clip board with my files on them.

"Sore," I said. "My legs and arms are killing me."

"Well after that dragon tossed you around like a rag doll, I'm not surprised. Unfortunately we are a bit low on supplies at the moment, so you will have to wait until the morning for your pain killing potions."

"Great…" I said, flopping against the bed. "Oww."

"Sorry dear, just try to get some sleep."

That night was the longest most agonizing night of my life. I was far too uncomfortable and sore to sleep. I spent the entire night just staring up at the ceiling. Time passed painfully slow. I think I managed to doze off a few times, because next thing I knew the first few rays of light of morning leaked into the window.

"Finally," I moaned.

The eerie silence was broken by the sound of the door creaking open. Professor Snape entered the Hospital Wing with a cart stacked full of potion vials.

"Good morning Professor," I called out, startling the man.

"Royal, what are you doing awake at this hour?" Snape asked, walking over to my bed.

"I wasn't able to get much sleep," I said with a shrug. "Madam Pomfrey didn't have any pain killers or sleeping drafts,"

"Hmm…" Snape picked up the clip board at the foot of my bed and read through the papers. " One moment," Snape left my side and walked over to his cart. He looked through the vials until he seemed to find what he was looking for. He returned with two vials. "This potion will relieve you of your soreness and this will let you get to sleep."

"Wow, thanks!" I shot back the vials and could instantly feel the effects. "Wow… that's some… good… stu-" I couldn't finish, I was so tired.

"Sleep well Miss Royal," Snape said.

"Uhh…" and I was out like a light.

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Amber is an idiot. Did she learn nothing from watching Hercules (my favorite Disney movie, btw)?! Never EVER underestimate the power of a mutli-headed creature. And now I have this damned egg (that screams every time you open it, which is less than pleasant), a million of new Amber fan boys to deal with, and my best friend in a mini comma because of her lack of Disney education.

"Don't be sad, Kate." George was sitting next to me in the common room.

"It is a party, after all." Fred, who was sitting on my other side, said gesturing to the common room that was in full celebration mode for Harry's win.

I sighed. "The only reason why I'm here is because the hospital wing kicked me out." Visiting hours were now over so I couldn't be there to watch over my comatose friend. "Sorry guys." I just need ten minutes to myself to be upset over all that has happened but that isn't gonna happen any time soon. "I'm just worried."

"We know." They said together. After a few more moments of them trying to cheer me up, they went and enjoyed the party, giving up on me. I was glad that they were able to enjoy the party; unlike me. This party would suck even if Amber were here. Oh well, I guess I'll just go to bed. That way I can finally be alone.

"Kate?" I turned around and Harry was calling after me. "Can I talk to you? Privately?" I nodded and followed Harry out of the common room.

"What's up?" It was very draining trying to stay strong for this long. My tone clearly suggested that I hoped this wouldn't take long.

"Amber will be okay." He clearly knew what was on my mind but I had no idea what was on his or why he wanted to talk to me alone.

"I know. I just worry about her." It's true, I do worry about her but right now, I know she's safe and will recover. At this point I'm more worried about my sanity. At least, even when I'm too tired to see straight, I am a good liar.

"I know you do. You're a good friend." I smiled at him. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about." I'm confused. "I wanted to thank you for talking some sense into Ron. He can be stubborn and difficult and a bit of a prat sometimes but…well thank you for talking to him."

"No problem. Can I go now? I'm kind of tired and I was planning on going to bed." I didn't want to be rude but it had been a long day and I need to not be around people. He didn't seem to hear my request to be excused.

"No one ever talks to Ron the way you did. Hermione and I have tried but he always flips out. For some reason he listens to you." Harry was beginning to ramble and I did not like his subject of choice. The last thing I want to think about after a day like today is Ron. "You seem to, I don't know, make him more fun to be around. Ever since you talked to him, he seems…different." At this point Harry noticed his rambling, gave me an awkward, quick hug and went back to the common room. I followed him but instead of going to the party, I went to bed. At least that's what I told everyone at the party. I was really sneaking out to see Amber. When I got to the hospital wing, she was asleep, but only just.

"How's she doing?" Snape had made his way back up from the potions room (he went down there to get a potion to prevent infection) and he was now standing next to my chair.

"Same." She hadn't moved but she was clearly breathing. I looked up at the Potions Master for some sort of comfort. I wanted my teacher to tell me that she was 100% fine. I wanted to know that I didn't have to go through Hogwarts alone and I wanted to make know that the person I've been closest to for what feels like forever won't meet her tragic end because of me and my stupidity with a soda. I looked at Snape hoping that he would confirm that my fears were never going to come true but my concerned expression was mirrored in Snape's face. If only Amber could see how Snape was looking at her now. It sounds creepy with the age difference, but trust me, when a guy looks at a girl this way it doesn't matter if the guy is 117-year-old virgin and the girl is 17 and can't act (Twilight sucks, fyi), that look makes age trivial. I couldn't help but feel like I was intruding on Snape and Amber so I excused myself quietly. I shut the door to the hospital wing and turned around quickly, knocking someone over.

"Oh, sorry." I said. I was tired and worried and probably looked like a mess but I could really care less about my appearance at this point. I looked and saw Ron looking up at me.

"Don't be," Ron smiled at me as he rose to his feet. "You've been though a lot today." There was a long silence between us. I didn't like being this far away from Amber when I had no clue how she was doing. She could've died for all I know and Ron is just staring at me like nothing is wrong.

"So, um, what do you want?" I was too tired to be polite. Ron seemed to understand and he got to the point, which I was thankful for.

"I just wanted to thank you again. Harry and I made up and I-" I cut him off

"I'm glad I could help but I need to-" I was trying to leave but he cut me off this time.

"There's a party going on in the common room. It's really fun and you should be there. I'm sure Amber will be fine." I was too concerned about Amber to notice that Ron just asked me to a party.

"Thanks for the invite but I'm not in a partying mood." And with that I walked back into the hospital wing to watch over my friend. Ron looked kinda hurt when I turned down the invite but I was in no mood. What was it with the Weasleys and their desire to make me party?

Snape had regained his control with regards to Amber. He didn't seem to know I noticed the way he looked at her and I know that talking about it would result in my expulsion. I couldn't tell Amber about what I noticed either.

"How is she?" I asked Snape, who got up from the seat that I was originally sitting in and offered to back to me.

"She-

"Kate, how is Amber? Is she going to be okay? What's wrong with her?" Snape's response was cut off by Hermione running in and talking a million miles an hour. Hermione was followed by Harry, Fred, George, and Ron. They all gathered around (apparently they noticed my absence from the party and came up to make my life hell) and once Snape filled them in with Amber's condition he went to leave.

"I'm in Hell…"Amber was waking up!

"Open your eyes, you idiot." I said. This nightmare was over. Thank God!

"Hmm?" She opened her eyes and I instantly felt better.

"Well it looks like Sleeping Beauty decided to get up," Fred joked.

"And we were just about to go prince hunting," George teased.

"The task… did I win?" Amber asked, still sounding weak.

"Just barely, you should consider yourself lucky,"

"Professor Snape?" I guess he hadn't left but went to the back wall.

"What were you thinking turning your back against a dragon? You're lucky you just got knocked around a bit. If that dragon had not been chained you could have died! You foolish girl…" he just pushed himself off the wall and left the room.

"That was Snape talk for, 'I am so relieved that you are all right it takes every bit of my will power not to just shag you where you lay'," Fred said, doing his best Snape impersonation.

"Fred!" Amber cried out. She was embarrassed and so was I after seeing that look he gave her, Snape and Amber "shagging", as Fred put it, was now a possibility. "Not funny!"

"I thought it was spot on," George said, giving his twin a high five. The group started talking full speed about Amber's trial, about Harry's, about the party that I didn't want to go to. Throughout the next few hours with Amber, I stayed quiet so I could keep control of my emotions and before I knew it visiting hours were over. I told Amber I would sneak back after curfew.

A few hours later I climbed out of bed and went to see Amber. Now that she was out of her death nap we can talk about the stupid egg and, I suppose, Snape. I was almost through the door leading to the seventh floor when someone grabbed me and pulled me back into the common room. I spun around to find Ron holding my arm.

"What?!" I hissed at him (I was whisper/yelling so it sounded like I was hissing).

"Where are you going?" he whispered back. I didn't answer. The last thing I need is Weasley knowing where I'm going. Part of the appeal of going to see Amber is that he wouldn't be there. I was still having issues, I mean I spent the last two weeks here dreaming of my future with him and then, once I got to know him, I found he was obnoxious and felt like a moron for ever liking him like that. The last thing I needed was him being around me all the time. "You're going to see Amber, aren't you?" it looked like he wanted to come with. I nodded. Maybe I could lose him down a dark corridor and he'd get detention! I moved toward the door and he followed. Excellent Weasley, follow me to your death. Muhahaha. Now where to lose him? I started walking faster and faster until I broke into a full out run and Ron ran after me. I forgot that he could run faster (longer legs) so he caught up with me quickly.

"Kate why are we- are you okay?" I tripped over my untied shoelace and now Ron was kneeling next to me talking a bit too loudly. "Kate, are you okay? Why did you start running? Why-"

"-are you two out of bed?" Snape's cold voice said behind us. I stood up and turned to look at him. Maybe if he knew why I was out of bed, he'd let me off. I was about to tell him my reason but he already knew it. "I thought you might sneak out to see Royal, Evans. But why is Weasley out of bed? Escorting your girlfriend to the at the hospital wing?" The kind, understanding Snape from earlier today was gone completely. Before I didn't understand why the whole of Gryffindor disliked Snape but after his "girlfriend" comment, I understood.

"I am not his girlfriend." I said coldly. I didn't want Weasley getting any wrong ideas about my feelings for him. I liked him for a short time when my judgment was highly impaired.

"That doesn't matter Miss Evans. You both broke curfew. And of punishment two weeks detention with me and 20 points from Gryffindor." And with that Snape left Ron and I alone in the corridor. Ron was clearly mad at me for…something and followed Snape down the hall. The next two weeks will be hell, spending everyday with Snape and Ron, the two people I hated the most right now.

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"Just keep your arm in that sling for a week, take your potions, and you will be as good as new," Madam Pomfrey said as she finished setting up my sling.

"Thanks!" I said, getting up from the bed.

"Come on Amber, let's go get lunch," Kate said.

"Way ahead of you," I said, following her out of the Hospital Wing. "I spent a week living off healthy junk. Point me in the direction of the nearest candy bar and stand back!"

Kate rolled her eyes. "And here I was thinking maybe that dragon could knock some sense into you."

"Please, it'll take a lot more than a dragon to do that. So fill me in, what have I missed? What's the latest gossip going around Hogwarts?" We both stopped and laughed. Like we cared about gossip. "How are Harry and Ron? Are they still fighting?"

"No, they made up. Ron realized only a crazy person would willingly sign up for this tournament, let alone a fourth year."

"Glad to hear it, Ron is obnoxious enough on a good day, but we has being a real douche,"

"Yeah…" Kate quickly changed the subject, which caught my attention, but I decided to stick a pin in it and bring it up later. If she didn't want to talk about Weasley then I was in no rush to either.

When we got down to the Great Hall I stacked my plate full of food and dug in. It was delicious!

"Hey Amber, leave some food for the rest of us! Ron already eats like a pig, we don't need you eating like him too!" Harry said with a laugh.

"Sorry," I said, mouth full of food. "It's just sooo good!" I swallowed the food and began to wash it down with water.

"So anyway, like I was saying before, Neville asked me to the ball!" Ginny said excitedly.

I didn't mean to, even though it was really funny, but I found myself spitting a moth full of water all over Ginny's face. "Dance?" I coughed, really surprised.

"Yeah, they are throwing a ball for the tournament! It's going to be loads of fun!" Hermione said smiling.

"Great," I mumbled, taking another drink from my water.

"And the champions have to get dates," Ginny said, wiping water off herself.

Another spit take from me, all over the female Weasley.

"Royal!" She whined.

"Sorry," I said, coughing violently. "But I thought I heard you say… dates? Like… a person you have to spend the evening with?"

"And dance," Ron groaned. "You can't forget about the dancing,"

"Just great…" Kate and I both groaned.


	4. Chapter 4

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Amber didn't get out of the hospital wing for a week. That meant I had to spend 7 days with the golden trio (mainly Ron) and Snape and I couldn't tell her about it. Detention sucked but I had cleaned the potions room so many times before it didn't require much thought. The thing that sucked about it was being with Ron. He clearly wanted to be friends, and I wanted that too but any time one of us is friendly to the other, things between us just explode and get worse. Since we got caught that night sneaking out to see Amber we became friendly and exploded about six times (in seven days, not to bad). The day Amber got out Ron and I were back on speaking terms so today was looking like it would be a glorious day. Ron and I talked in low whispers and we lost several house points because he kept on making me laugh really loud. Snape was getting so frustrated with my giggling he released Ron and I early from cleaning duty.

I went to all my morning classes and once I got through the first half of the day I rushed to the hospital wing to get Amber.

"Come on Amber, let's go get lunch," I said. I was glad to have my friend back.

"Way ahead of you," she said. "I spent a week living off healthy junk. Point me in the direction of the nearest candy bar and stand back!"

Amber hadn't changed a bit. "And here I was thinking maybe that dragon could knock some sense into you," one time, I tricked her drinking spring water instead of Sprit and she almost died.

"Please, it'll take a lot more than a dragon to do that. So fill me in, what have I missed? What's the latest gossip going around Hogwarts?" We both stopped and laughed. Like we cared about gossip. "How are Harry and Ron? Are they still fighting?" she just had to mention Ron, didn't she?

"No, they made up. Ron realized only a crazy person would willingly sign up for this tournament, let alone a fourth year."

"Glad to hear it, Ron is obnoxious enough on a good day, but we has being a real douche,"

"Yeah…" I quickly changed the subject. I would fill Amber in later. I was still in shock that Ron asked me to the party in the common room the week before and I needed her take on it. When we got to the Great Hall, Amber went to town.

"Hey Amber, leave some food for the rest of us! Ron already eats like a pig, we don't need you eating like him too!" Harry said with a laugh. Eating with the twins, the trio and Ginny, Ron's little sister, had become the norm for me over the past week.

"Sorry," Amber said, mouth full "It's just so good!" I was going to have to take her word on that because I was not hungry (thanks to Ron and Amber's lovely table manners). I wanted to get away from Ron (to think about this morning which was wonderful with him) so I was thinking of how to leave when I heard the most hated words ever in the same sentence.

"So anyway, like I was saying before, Neville asked me to the ball!" Ginny said. Those words being a boy' name, followed but "asked me to" followed by either a movie, a dance, a trip, and/ or a ball.

Amber felt the same way I did because she spit her mouthful of water at Ginny in response. That cheered my up a bit.

"Dance?" Amber coughed.

"Yeah, they are throwing a ball for the tournament! It's going to be loads of fun!" Hermione said smiling. Of course she would be pleased with this unholy turn of events.

"And the champions have to get dates," Ginny said, wiping water off herself.

Another spit take from Amber and my mood improved even more…then I realized what Ginny said to cause said spit take.

"Royal!" She whined.

"Sorry," Amber coughed out again, "But I thought I heard you say… dates? Like… a person you have to spend the evening with?"

"And dance," Ron groaned. "You can't forget about the dancing," So Ron hated dancing as much as I did. That another thing we have in common and- Kate, goddamnit, stop thinking about Ron! This was not going to be fun.

"So, who are we taking to the ball?" George asked as we walked to the common room after dinner.

"No one yet." I was in no hurry to find a date. Maybe if I don't find one then I won't have to go. Fred and George were not pleased with my answer.

"That will not do, Katy, dear." Fred teased (side note: Fred and George are the only people I will ever let call me Katy). "And to help with your mate selection-"

"We will be offering you our match making skills to find that prefect man." The idea of Fred and George being match makers made me laugh ridiculously hard. I just picture them in that scene from Fiddler on the Roof singing about the men in the town and cleaning the house and singing "match maker, match maker, find me a find, catch me a catch."

"Fred, George, can I talk to Kate alone?" We had finally reached the common room and Ron looked like he had been waiting for me. The twins nodded and Ron grabbed me by the arm and led me out of the common room, down the corridor and into an abandoned class room.

"Ow. What?" his grip on my arm hurt. He finally let go after he shut the door.

"You know what." He was clearly pissed about something…something that I apparently did. That was noting new but the empty classroom and dragging me down the hall routine was new.

"I honestly have no idea what you are talking about." He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to me.

"I know that you were the one who wrote this." He said angrily as I read the note. It read;

Dear Amber,

I knew it. Ginny does, in fact, have a thing for Harry. This is bad, very bad. We need to find a way to destroy her. A rumor…a good old fashioned American rumor. We both know that she's a slut now we just need to make the school know…can she be pregnant? With a Drumstrag's baby? Yeah, that's it. She will be pregnant with Krum's baby. Will you help me start this rumor?

Katy

Wow. That was a lot to take in. "Why did you write this?"

"I didn't." I looked him straight in the eye and told him the truth.

"Then who did?" He was pissed

"I don't know." Really pissed

"Who else would write to Amber during Care of Magical Creatures to talk about starting a rumor against my sister?!"

"I don't know!" now I was pissed. "First of all, I wouldn't need to write to Amber during that class, we can talk during it. Second of all, I would never ever start a rumor about someone. I have had enough rumors started about me and I would never wish a rumor on anyone. Third, why would I care if your sister liked Harry? In case you haven't noticed I like," don't say it, don't say it, "someone else." That was close. "And lastly-"

"YOU HAVEN'T PROVEN ANYTHING! I KNOW YOU WROTE THIS!" he was yelling at me. Yelling!

"FINE! DON'T BELIEVE ME! JUST KEEP BEING A JACKASS AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" I moved toward to door to leave; I wasn't going to defend myself if I was just going to get screamed at. When I reached the door it was already open; Fred and George had heard our yelling match and came to see what happened. Ron filled them in on the note, showed it to them and I was sure I was about to lost Fred and George as friends. Ginny was their sister too.

"Really Ron?" George asked, handing the note to Fred. "You really think she wrote this?"

"It's clearly not her handwriting, she would never write this about Ginny, and she would never ever refer to herself as Katy." True. Those were points that even I missed in my defense.

"Then who wrote it?" Ron was still unconvinced.

"A Slytherin." I said without thinking. All three boys turned and looked at me. "You said you found this in Care of Magical Creatures?" Ron nodded. "We have that class with the Slytherins. I bet Parkinson wrote it. She has a thing for Malfoy and he has been flirting with Amber so she hate me and Amber more than she did before…that's why she wrote this. She wanted a Gryffindor to find it and turn against me and Amber."

"That…makes a lot of sense." Ron had to admit that it did.

"I think someone-"Fred began.

"Ron." George interjected

"-owes someone else an apology." Ron mumbled sorry and Fred and George left the two of us alone again.

"Well, now that that nastiness is behind us," I said trying to lighten the mood, "shall we?" I gestured toward the door.

"You know, Kate, you have been nothing but a pain in the ass ever since you got here. All you Americans are the same. You do what you want, lie, manipulate, and I don't trust you. Any of you." And with that, Ron left. I didn't know whether to laugh or be offended at what he just said. One thing is for sure; Kate Evans now no longer has feelings for Ron Weasley. Thank God that phase is over. Now I just have to avoid Ron and all of Slytherin house and life will be good. Hopefully.

ARARARARARARARARARARARARARAR ARARARARARARARARARARARA

It was early Saturday and I found myself sitting down by the lake, back against a rock and sketch pad on my lap. I love art, and these moments where I just got to sit back and doodle made me very happy. Kate was skipping rocks, well TRYING to skip rocks, across the lake. Hermione sat next to me, studying as usual. We made pointless small talk, talking about this and that, nothing of real importance. The weather was really nice and we wanted to take the moment and get out of the castle.

"Professor Moody's class today was very… intense," I said, sketching the trees around the lake.

"It was wrong," Hermione said, her back tensing up as she thought of the class. "He can't just use spells like that in a class room. Poor Nevil…"

"Well it's like what Harry said," Kate said, tossing a rock into the water with a loud splash. "there is a good chance we will have to go up against these spells at some point. We might as well know what they are now,"

"But still… in a classroom? I don't know… it just doesn't seem right to me," Hermione said, turning the page in her book.

Something in the distance pulled my attention away from my sketch. "Wanna know what doesn't seem right to me? That!" I pointed down the shore of the lake. Victor Krum, one of the other champions was jogging, being followed by a group of students, girls giggling like a bunch of idiots.

"Oh jeeze," Kate groaned. "I can't stand girls like that. They only like him because he is some famous Quidditch player,"

"Run Krum, run! The mindless zombies are after you!" I called out jokingly.

As Krum got closer to us, he looked our way. He gave Hermione this really intense look.

"Wow, that look wasn't even directed at me and I got the chills," I whistled. "How 'bout it Granger, is there something going on between you and Krum?"

She just mumbled something under her breath, looking at her book.

"Sorry, we didn't catch that…" Kate said, smirking. "Care to repeat?"

"… he asked me to go to the ball with him,"

"Woohoo! Way to go Hermione," I said, giving her a gentle shove on the shoulder. "Hot foreign guys are always the way to go,"

"I don't know… I was kind of hoping someone else would ask," Hermione said, blushing.

"Like who? Ron?!" I couldn't stop myself from laughing at the thought of someone actually wanting to go on a date with him. "Yeah he is quite the catch. Believe me Hermione, whoever this other guy is, you can't do better than Krum,"

KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKE KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKE

I loved the weekends at Hogwarts. Instead of going home where it is easier to avoid the people who hate you, you get to stay with them 24/7. Yippee! The Ron note thing still was bothering me. Bright side, my sarcasm is in rare form right now (above is sarcasm, fyi. I hate it here). Anywho, Amber, Hermione, and I were all hanging out by the lake. Hermione was starting to grow on me. She was one of the few people who treated me with any sort of respect and I could really use a friend who wasn't a Weasley or was as hated as I was.

"So Kate, who do you want to ask you?" Hermione and Amber were talking about the dance (again!) and Krum had asked Hermione. "Come on, you've been here a few months, you've got to have someone in mind." I thought about it and I actually didn't.

"I don't really want to go with anyone." I was going to rant about how I don't need a date to have fun and if I did want one, I was ballsy enough to go out and ask someone, not sit and wait to be asked. I decided that a rant would not help the growing friendship I had with Hermione. "I'm not feeling well. I'm going up to the common room. I'll see you guys later."

When I got to the common room, Ron and Harry were there playing chess. Great. Harry clearly heard about what happened so when he saw me, he and Ron started whispering. For what I know about Ron and his dumbass ways, Harry was trying to get him to apologize to me again. At this point I really didn't care. I don't care what one person thinks about me. I was being ridiculous for letting Ron effect me so much. As I headed to my room to get my laptop, I decided that I was done with being upset about stupid things like being liked. Ever since I got here I have been depressed. Well, no more. Get ready Hogwarts, Kate no longer gives a shit what is thought about her.

"Kate? Are you up here?" Amber said, coming up the stairs.

"Yeah, I'll be right down." I grabbed my laptop, iPod, and schoolbooks. I really had to study. When I got into the common room, it looked like an intervention was set up. Fred, George, Amber, and the stupid note were all gathered around a table. I went and sat down next to George while Amber read the note. The last thing I wanted to do was think about this note. I needed to get away from this and go study- that's why I'm here, to learn, not to get consumed by stupid high school drama. To the library, away!

ARARARARARARARARARARARARARAR ARARARARARARARARARARAR

I scanned over the letter, finding it hard to believe that anyone could actually think that Kate wrote it. Then again, it was Ron…

"Ok first of all we don't refer to rumors as a "good old fashioned American rumor" and secondly, Ginny is thirteen. If we were going to spread a rumor it would be something a bit more believable then a thirteen year old being pregnant. I mean it happens yeah but for the most part it's really unlikely," I said, tossing the letter back onto the table. "I'm really sorry Kate…"

Kate just shrugged. "Whatever," She gathered her things and got up from the table. "I'm gonna go to the library… I'll see you guys later,"

We all watched her leave, sitting in silence.

"This isn't right," I said angrily. "First Ron goes off on her like she is some hussy, soon the entire house, or hell maybe even the entire school, will be talking badly about her!"

"What we really need is some proof that it wasn't Kate," Fred said.

"Yeah, like if we could get a Slytherin to admit to writing it while Ron was in listening distance," George agreed.

"Easier said than done," I said with a sigh, leaning back in my chair. "I don't think we could get a Slytherin to talk to us let alone admit to setting Kate and I up. And there are so many of them… how could we possibly know which one it was? It's not like we can talk to ALL of them,"

"We don't need to talk to all of them," Fred said.

"In fact we don't have to talk to half of them," George continued.

"We just need one," the twins said at the same time.

"And that would be…?" I asked.

"The Slytherin Prince, Draco Malfoy," Fred said.

"You're kidding," I moaned. "He'd be the most difficult to talk to. The entire Malfoy clan has made Gryffindor hating into a sport and they take home the gold,"

"Oh, don't worry, we know you can do it," George said, patting me on the back.

"Maybe… WAIT! When did anyone say anything about me doing this?!" I shrieked.

"It has to be you," Fred said. "Kate is your best friend so it would only be right for you to do it. Plus your unnatural attraction to 'bad boys' would make the best cover for the sudden interest in the Malfoy,"

I groaned. "We'll it doesn't seem like I have a choice in the matter, does it?"

George and Fred grinned. "Nope!"

"Fine," I sighed. "I'll do my best,"

"Look at the bright side," Fred said, giving me a nudge. "You could get a date to the Yule Ball out of all this,"

"Oh thank god," I said sarcastically, getting out of my chair and heading towards the fat lady's portrait. "here I was worrying about not having a date to the ball, but now that you put it that way I'm so relieved. I'll be back before my carriage turns back into a pumpkin,"

"That's the spirit!" the twins called after me.

KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKE KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKE

Aah, sweet nerdum. Thank you for finally claiming me. Now instead of trying to prove my innocence, I get to read text books and write essays. When I got to the library, I found Hermione (shocker) studying. I joined her and we helped eachother with our mountain of homework. I was finally starting to enjoy myself when Krum came to our table.

"I'll just leave you two alone." I rathered my things and began to wonder the castle. Not much was going on and that's the way I prefer things. I like how in a story some of the characters just go about heir business without making a big fuss about it all the time. Like right now, I did my homework and hung out with a friend and was about to explain that in a few sentences. Now that my breather is over, I wonder what Amber was up to…

If our lives were a book, I think readers would be more entertained by what Amber was up to right now. I would have a tendency to break the fourth wall when I had nothing more to say or do unitl Amber came and found me or until I had to go forth on some magical quest. But alas, it is not a book, and we have no readers…?

ARARARARARARARARARARARARARAR ARARARARARARARARARARARA

"Hey Malfoy, I know we barely know each other and our houses are eternal enemies, but do you want to go to the Yule Ball with me so I can pump you for information on who set up my friend?" I sighed, leaning against the dungeon wall. "No… Hey Malfoy, the other day I noticed you drinking some punch in the Great Hall and I thought to myself, hey I drink punch, and the Yule Ball will have punch… no that's just stupid," I groaned. "Why is this so hard?" In anger, and without thinking, I punched the stone wall… hard. "Oww! Ugh, stupid wall…"

"I knew you didn't have many friends, but an imaginary friend is sad, even for you Royal," I spun around and found none other than Draco Malfoy standing at the end of the hallway laughing at my misfortune.

"Shut up Malfoy," I snapped. "Don't you have some first years to steal candy from? And where are your side kicks, Tweedle dumb and Tweedle dumber?"

Malfoy approached me, rolling his eyes. "Good one," he said sarcastically. "If you must know even I get annoyed with having them with me all the time. When I'm with them I might as well be alone, it's not like they know how to carry a conversation. But here's a better question, what are you doing down in the dungeons Royal? It's the weekend, you have no reason to be down here,"

"Well I was just out for a walk and…" I sighed. "Look, I'm gonna cut the crap and get right to the point. I need you-"

"Aww, I had no idea you cared," Malfoy said smugly, cutting me off. "I'm touched."

"Oh don't flatter yourself," I sneered. "If I had a choice I would never be in the same continent as you,"

"Well then what are you doing here? You Americans fought so hard not to be a part of England and yet," he spread his arms wide open, "here you are."

"The wizarding schools in America are just as good as any here," I said glaring at him. "I was offered a chance to go here so I-" I shook my head. "It's really none of your business anyway,"

"Good because I don't want to hear your damn life story," he said turning to leave. "Do me a favor and go back to your common room alright? We don't want some Gryffindor running around down here,"

"Wait!" I said, reaching out and grabbing his shoulder. "I have a proposition for you,"

"Like there is anything that would make you want to be involved with you in anyway," Malfoy said, brushing me off and walking away.

"I need you to go to the Yule Ball with me!" I called out after him.

He stopped and slowly turned towards me. "What did you say?"

I crossed the distance between us, stopping a foot away from him. "Look for reasons I can't explain, I need to go the Yule Ball with you,"

He laughed. He literally laughed out loud, laughing so hard he clutched his sides in pain. "W-why would I e-e-ever go to t-th-the Ball w-with you?!"

"You will be the center of attention," I said. "The champions and there dates have all eyes on them, I know you would just love that,"

Draco was silent for a moment, seeming to be thinking it over. "No," he said finally.

"What?"

"There is no way I would ever go out with a Gryffindor, especially you. You're loud and annoying and oh so American," Malfoy sneered. "Plus you're a mud blood. Going to the ball with you would the worst decision I've ever made. See you later Royal, or better yet, see you never," he turned and walked away.

This time I did not call after him, I did not reach out to him, I just let him go. I wasn't giving up, hell no! If anything this made me all the more determined! I would get Malfoy to go with me… but I would be lying if I said being called a mud blood didn't sting…

KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKK EKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKE

I hate dances, so, of course there has to be a dance at this damn school. And it's not like I can just go and have some chips and dip than leave. No. Being a Tri-Wizard Champion (why it is still being called Tri-Wizard when there are six of us is beyond me… maybe because Sex-Wizard Tournament sounds dirty) being a champion, I had to dance the opening dance. Fantastic! Now I have to get dressed up (eew), go to a school function (double eew), and find a date (gag me)! So Amber and I had to go on a quest for dates. I am so happy; I'm bursting with fruit flavor…yaay sarcasm.

"I need to think of a way to get Malfoy to go with me," Amber said, her chin resting on her fist as she leaned against the table.

"Malfoy?! Why would you want to go with him?"

"It's a long story," she sighed. "He turned me down though,"

"Can't you just ask someone else? Believe me, I'm sure there are tons of guys here better than Malfoy."

"Can't, it needs to be Malfoy," she grumbled. "Point is he's being a real ass… well when isn't he. He's just so stubborn, selfish, egotistical, rude and… ugh!" She slammed her head on the table. "Stupid Slytherins…"

"At least you have someone in mind, what do I do? I still need a date." I was thinking that Amber and I could go with Fred and George. Now that plan was shot.

"Harry still needs a date. Why don't you go with him?"

"Harry? I don't know. He's nice and all but, don't you think if I asked him he'd be all, 'I like someone else, I don't wanna get your hopes up.' The last thing I need is people thinking I like Harry Potter. According to the twins, I look like his mom, and he looks like his dad, so everyone would be all, 'Harry and Kate =James and Lily'. "

"Just tell him you're going as friends." Amber said in her 'duh' tone of voice.

"Who died and made you Cupid?" we glared at each other a moment that burst into laughter.

"What's so funny, you two?" Harry Potter walked over to our table and sat down next to me. The fact that we were just talking about him made Amber laugh harder, causing me to laugh so hard I couldn't breathe.

"Sorry Harry. Inside jokes make my tummy go 'ooouuccchh!'" Amber fell off her chair after I said that in an Australian accent (I don't know either). "So what's up?" I asked in between giggles.

"I wanted to talk to you and Amber about the Yule Ball." He said, sounding nervous.

"I have a date already, Harry." Amber said from the floor.

"Oh, what about you, Kate?"

"I was actually going to ask you. We could go as friends."

"Great! So, are we going together now?"

"I think so. You okay with that?" I asked. He seemed like he wanted to go with Amber, not me.

"Oh, yeah. But can I ask you something?" Harry asked nervously.

"Yeah, anything. Shoot."

"Don't tell Ron that I'm going with you, okay? The last thing I need is him being mad at me again." The look on his face said that he was dead serious.

"Okay. But why would Ron care?"

"I just don't want him to know that I have a date, 'cause he's having trouble finding one so just don't tell him."

"Um...okay. I guess I'll see you later Harry."

"Okay. Later." He looked happy to leave. By this time, Amber had pulled herself off the floor and was looking at me with her eyebrows at her hairline.

"Don't look at me in that tone of voice." Her staring was kind of creepy, not going to lie.

"You and Ron should," she began, but I cut her off.

"Should what? Date? Ha. Yes, 'cause I want to date someone who hates me. And I thought you hated him and thought anyone who likes him is a loony toon."

"He doesn't hate you." Amber said calmly.

"Oh really? Than why does he avoid me like the plague? And why does he not like me hanging with the twins? And why does he have to argue with everything I say? And do not tell me it's because he likes me. Cause we did that in fought grade, not when we're fourteen. Besides, he's in love with Hermione Granger."

"Okay, okay. Sorry I brought it up." There was an awkward silence for a moment, than Amber said, "What are you going to wear?" and that's all it took to make us talk so fast only we could understand what was being said.


End file.
